As of late 2011 the Columbia Plateau Trail State Park has developed 38 miles in two segments between Fish Lake near Cheney and Martin Road near Sprague, and between Ice Harbor Dam near the Tri-Cities...

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Biking

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Rattlesnake Lake/Cedar Falls to Cle Elum

We started in Cedar Falls and made it to Lake Easton State Park the first day, where we camped. Our bicycles were fully loaded, and by the time we got to the Snoqualmie Tunnel we were very tired of the uphill grind. The grade is never difficult, and you barely notice it, but after 20 miles your body is feeling it. There was a shortish patch between the tunnel and Lake Easton where the gravel was loose, which made the biking a bit difficult, but all in all it was pretty great. It was a 40-mile day, and there were lots of wilderness camping spots along the way. If we had known how long it would take us to do those 40 miles (about 8-9 hours), we might have chosen to camp at one of the wilderness spots.

At Lake Easton, we took one of the hiker-biker sites for $12.00. There are
two: #36 and #37. We were assigned #36, which is quite small. The other site (#37) is roomier.

The next day we biked 15 miles to Cle Elum, where we ended our ride. The first five miles out of the campground at Lake Easton were excruciating. It appeared that new gravel had been dumped on the trail for those five miles, and it was slow going and a bit scary for one of our friends who was clipped in. But once we got past that point, it was back to being a very pleasant ride.

My recommendation: Switch to flat pedals for this ride. You don't need to be clipped in!

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Rugged but great adventure

We rode the whole trail from the Idaho border to Cedar Falls in 2016. It is not true that "145 miles" of the trail are closed. There are some detours due to missing trestles, a section of live rail, and short sections of private land. There are no plans to close the trail through the Yakima Training Center. The JWPT is a great way to explore Washington's geography and history through areas not seen from a car. We passed through without any disruption or trespass, and with barely any notice, although we did meet some very friendly people along the trail. We only left behind money we spent in small towns along the way, including those on the detours. For more accurate information go to www.johnwaynepioneertrail.org.

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Not complete

There is over 145 miles of this trail that is closed. When trespassing it I is a 400.00 fine. Also you must contact the owners to cross miles of private land that is owned out right. I do know the owners and they are tried of all the trespassing. So they closed their land. Also waiting for the army to close more near the range on base.

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Beautiful scenery but a jolting ride!

Did this trail as part of a Bicycle Adventures supported ride with 4 others in August of 2016. The scenery is beautiful but it is a jolting tough ride. Further along it does get better and it did help that we started at the top of the mountain and rode down hill. Uphill would require some serious thigh muscles. There is a tunnel along the trail and it is very cold (50 degrees F) and very dark. We had lights on the front and back of several of our bikes and it was still disorienting. This tunnel and the whole trail is best done in a group with lots of spare tubes!

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Rattle Snake Lake to Renslow Sept 15-16, 2016

I Rode solo East from Rattlesnake Lake on Sept 15 headed for Cle Elum for the night. When I first entered the trail at Cedar Falls Trail head the first thing that I noticed was this was not the beginning of the line. There was trail behind me at the entry point! This would have to be explored another day. As I headed up the trail towards the Snowqualmie tunnel I observed mostly packed gravel. About every 5 miles there was a pit toilet building and a picnic table nearby. Sometimes a leveled area marked by 4x4s for a tent was included. Later I observed these amenities continued all the way to Ellensburg though the spacing seemed to be less frequent after Cle Elum. The park map would be the best source of these locations. I encountered maybe 12 people between trail head and Snowqualmie tunnel mostly hikers. Since I had traveled the tunnel from Hyak once before I knew to bring a headlamp for the darkness and warm clothes for the cold. Once through the tunnel the climate seemed different, warmer and a bit drier. Trail composition become that of looser gravel so that my hard tailed mountain bike seemed to float around as I moved forward. Some might find this unnerving but I was able to adapt by keeping my speed up. This surface condition continued all the way to Kittitas (when on the trail). I spent the night at a motel in Eastern Cle Elum. I might have stayed further west if I had known that I would have to backtrack to get back on the trail but then I would not have seen the rest of rather interesting town if I had stayed west.

On day 2 entered a beautiful canyon along Yakima river. I encountered two cattle on the trail that seemed to be lost (near turkey gulch). Next I came to the tunnel with the waiver sign but no forms in the form box. A few had written names on the box itself. I assumed that this was no longer important or there would still be forms available, right?. The next tunnel did not ask for a waiver - recently fixed? It appeared to have been worked on. I Only saw a few people on the trail from here to the detour past Kittitas. Cyclists wanting to go further east should know that while there is a detour sign at Prater road, The trail is closed all the way to the other side of the Columbia River (unless your choose to ride the 3 miles to the first closed trestle over I90 and backtrack). One might as well go from here to Vantage on the road in order to get to the next open part of the trail. My ride ended in Vantage. I was driven down to Beverly Junction just to see the trestle and check the trail conditions. What I found was a barbed wire fence between the road and the JWPT. I had read about sand on the trail so wanted to actually set foot on to check the condition. What I found was harder trail here than what I had left (I slipped thru the barbed wire). Had being unused allowed the trail to harden or was the sandy section elsewhere between here and Renslow? Some other lucky person will have to find out the answer to that question! Great ride!

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Great Trail ride

My son and I have been on two segments for a total of about 60 miles from Easton toward Seattle. Scenery=A+Difficulty=EasyTrail Condition=3 on a scale from 0 to 5, 5 being new and paved. Trail tires are a big plus here. Lots of loose gravel. The tunnel near lake Kachess is a great experience. great for nature and site seeing or picnicing form hiking/biking. There were a couple of very small and rustic remote camp sires as well. highly recommend this trail. it is flat in general. A bit of a down slope headed east to west. There are no services other than the occasional pit toilet. Very family friendly.

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

My hometown trail - Jewel of Washington State

I have ridden this trail countless times between Rattlesnake Lake and Lake Easton. The Snoqualmie Tunnel (open May-Oct every year, closed in winter) is one of our favorite places to take visiting friends/relatives.

Best route for young/inexperienced riders: when the tunnel is open, have a friend drop you off at the Hyak trailhead and ride down to Rattlesnake Lake (18 miles of downhill riding, 1-2% downhill grade). While you are riding the trail your driver can climb Rattlesnake Ledge (2 miles one-way, ~1800' of climbing) to what is becoming one of the most popular hiking trails in Washington State.

One of these days my son and I will ride across the entire state on this trail- rideacrosswashington.com

Columbia Plateau Trail State Park

I rode to Spokane from the John Wayne Trail juncture in August 2015

5 stars for the scenery, 2 for the rail ballast. It was rough going, even on a fatbike. I ran out of water mid morning and bailed off the horrid bone rattling ballast about 5 miles south of Lamont onto a gravel road that connected to Lamont Road and then into Lamont. Found water from a pump handle spigot in the little park behind the small community center. Filled up all 5 bottles and proceeded on pavement to the rough but fun dirt jeep road called Swift Roa that runs paralell to the CPT. I stayed on this when it became Cree Rd, then rejoined the CPT at Martin Trailhead. The rest of the ride was great, but hot, 106 degrees.Too hot for rattlesnakes so I got lucky and saw none in 5 day ride from North Bend) A refreshing jump in Amber Lake helped cool me down, and a second plunge into Fish Lake too, helped me arrive in Spokane feeling somewhat refreshed.
As others have noted, if they ever pave the CPT (and John Wayne Pioneer Trail) we will have an incrediblly scenic route through some remarkeable desert lanscapes and channeled scab lands. But for now, this is a ride that while I would say is doable for anyone, but just be ready with lots of water, energy bars, and thick mountain bike tires and maybe even a fat bike. The rail ballast rocks slid around like dinner plates even under the fat bike, which made it impossible to ever fully relax like you can on the packed gravel or paved trails.

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Two Day bike trip from West end to Cle Elum

Started out fairly early (9 am) Saturday, Sept. 26 from the west trail head near Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area. Had the good fortune of clear, crisp autumn weather for the ride east and were treated to gorgeous fall colors on the ascent, with vine maple and other foliage in full array. Traffic along the trail was moderate and condition good.

Some fresh gravel on a 5-6 mile stretch east of the Snoqualmie tunnel made bike handling somewhat dicey, but but gearing down and pedaling at a higher cadence made it tolerable. Lake Keechelus makes a good stopping point for lunch, if you are doing this distance.

Spent the night at the Iron Horse Inn Bed & Breakfats, just a stones throw form the trail in South Cle Elum. Nice place and filled with historical memorabilia from the days when the Milwuakee Railroad ruled the right-of-way.

The Sunday return was made special by a romp of river otters playing in a creek along the trail.

John Wayne Pioneer Trail

Heat stroke

On 9-12-15, my 52nd birthday, my husband and I did the Cle Elum to Thorp leg of the Iron Horse-John Wayne trail. Starting in Cle Elum it is just shy of 19 miles. The gravel is really thick and makes it harder to ride. Usually I like to start on the uphill side of the trail but did not on this trip. Big mistake. We rode to Thorp just fine but it was 1:00 by time we got there. Heat of the day. We ate our lunch at the trail head. Nothing there except a pit toilet and a picnic table right dab in the sun. Heading back to Cle Elum was exhausting. The heat got to me so we had to make several stops in the beginning. At one point I sat in the entrance of Tunnel 47 to cool off and we poured water over my head. I really thought we were going to have call 911 but I soldiered on and just peddled slowly. Finally it cooled down a little. Of course, we were riding uphill against the wind. 2+% grade doesn't sound like much until you are riding it for miles. We only passed a few other riders the whole day. We did it, we finished it and felt like we accomplished something in the end. Next leg Thorp to Yakima.